Marcus Freeman provides injury update on starting cornerback for Fiesta Bowl

Marcus Freeman is preparing to take the field for the first time as the head coach Notre Dame on Saturday. In the Fiesta Bowl, Freeman will look to get a new era for the Fighting Irish started with a bang.

On the way to the showdown with Oklahoma State, Notre Dame has dealt with a bevy of players decision. Whether it’s the decision to opt-out or the decision of whether they’re healthy enough to play, the Fighting Irish will still put their best foot forward against the Cowboys.

One of those players is starting cornerback Cam Hart. According to Freeman, Hart’s been dealing with a thigh bruise this week. On Saturday, the Notre Dame coach updated the status of his cornerback.

“Marcus Freeman said cornerback Cam Hart had a thigh bruise in practice but will be ready to play in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday,” tweeted Pete Sampson of The Athletic.

Although he’s dealing with an injury, Hart will be on the field for the Fighting Irish. With the potent Oklahoma State offense on the other side, it’s great news for Notre Dame to have him ready to play.

With star safety Kyle Hamilton opting-out in favor of preparation for the 2022 NFL Draft, Notre Dame will need others to fill the void. Perhaps Cam Hart can be that player for Marcus Freeman in the Fiesta Bowl.

Freeman: ‘If we don’t tackle well, we’re gonna be in trouble.’

Ahead of the matchup, Freeman revealed the key to victory on Notre Dame’s defense. Additionally, the Notre Dame coach also explained the difficulty of preparation with so much time off.

“Yeah, we gotta tackle,” Freeman said when asked about Notre Dame’s keys to stopping Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. “It’s hard when you have this break. You have this break from the last game of the season until January 1st. You have to be smart in how you practice. Because what we can’t do, is we can’t lose a guy because we’re in here scrimmaging. And these guys are too good. We, our players, our current players physically are too good to go out there and tackling each other every day. You can’t do that, you’ll hurt them. So you got to be very strategic in terms of how you prepare. But if we don’t tackle well, we’re gonna be in trouble.”

Notre Dame enters the game at 11-1, while Oklahoma State is 11-2. The Irish are scoring 35.3 points per game, and should be a nice test for Oklahoma State’s defense that allows 16.8 points per game. On the flip side, Oklahoma State is scoring 30.6 points per game while Notre Dame allows 18.3.